Hearing Tests

Looking to have your hearing tested in Toronto?

Are you tired of struggling to hear? A fantastic night out, great friends, laughter and joy,

the jokes you can't hear. The simple joy of catching up with friends, old memories and

even awful jokes! Enjoying the conversation should be effortless.

Symptoms of Hearing Loss

Do you have difficulty hearing in a crowd or background noise?

Do you feel like people are mumbling all the time?

Have you been told by family or friends that you aren't hearing them?

Do you need the TV volume louder than others?

Do you have difficulty hearing on the telephone?

Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves a lot?

Do you avoid social situations, find yourself withdrawing from activities that you once loved?

Do you feel that you can hear voices, but you just don't understand what they are saying?

Do you suffer from ringing or buzzing in your head (tinnitus)?

Admitting that you have a hearing loss can be difficult at first and you're not alone. People with hearing loss wait an average of seven years to take action. That's a very long time to live with an issue that can be easily addressed with hearing aids. Now is the time to take action! If you're feeling hesitant about taking the next step, consider the vast improvements in quality of life experienced by people who take action and address their hearing loss. Studies have shown that once they begin using hearing instruments, people enjoy great improvements in social, emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. If you are experiencing some of the symptoms of hearing loss, it is time for a baseline hearing test.

The Hearing Test Process At Toronto Audiology Associates

Audiometry: Pure Tone and Speech Testing

After entering a soundproof booth, headphones will be placed on your ears through which you are presented with a range of different pitched beeps or sounds and you will be asked to respond when you hear the sound by pressing a button. The presentations will be made separately to each ear. The loudness of each tone is reduced until you can just hear the tone. The softest sounds you can hear are known as your hearing thresholds, and these are marked on a graph called an audiogram. Your audiogram tells us a lot about the type and degree of your specific hearing loss.

Next, you will be asked to repeat words that get softer and softer to evaluate the lowest level you are able to detect speech. You will then be presented words at a comfortable listening level in both quiet and noise to evaluate how well you can discriminate speech sounds.

Middle Ear Testing: Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex Thresholds

A probe will be placed in your ear and you will feel a slight pressure change as it measures the pressure and movement of your eardrum. Then you will hear some louder tones which will be evaluating the contraction of the stapedius muscle or acoustic reflex in the middle ear. Since the equipment measures the responses you will not need to respond to these sounds.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE) Testing

A probe will be placed in your ear and some soft sounds will be presented to your ear to evaluate how the outer hair cells in the inner ear are responding. Since the equipment measures the responses you will not need to respond to these sounds.